Welcome to Chapter 3 of our Daily 5 Summer Book Study! This chapter is dedicated to the Sisters' 7th Core Belief: The 10 Steps to Teaching and Learning Independence. In this chapter, the Sisters explain their 10 steps that help students improve muscle memory, become independent workers, and increase their stamina. 
I know how I am at the beginning of the year- I want to rush through all of the introductory procedures, rules, getting-to-know-you activities and actually begin teaching! I really want to make Daily 5 work in my classroom this coming year, so I am going to slow way down and follow through with these steps and build a solid Daily 5 foundation.  
Here the are:
Step 1: Identify what is being taught. 
This seems simple enough to me and makes complete sense! The Sisters recommend following the same steps for each of the Daily 5 choices they teach. They begin by creating an I-chart out of chart paper or on an interactive whiteboard. What makes so much sense to me is that this poster is left up so students can constantly refer to it and you can revise it all year long. That's such a great idea!
Step 2: Set a Purpose and Create a Sense of Urgency. 
I know how important some of our daily activities are for the students. I love that sense of urgency they get when they are really invested in what we are doing. This is one of the key components of the 10 Steps. Getting students excited and programmed to want to read or write and get into their Daily 5 routine is important. I love the example the Sisters gave of a student who was interrupted by an administrator and asked him to please talk outside! I would love to hear one of my students say that! 
Step 3: Record Desired Behaviors on an I-Chart. 
The Sisters mentioned they made some changes to the way they now do this step. They give the students the desirable behaviors instead of having students discuss and brainstorm possible items to include. This makes so much sense, because my students will often go off on tangents when we are having class discussions. This way, the student stay focused. Instead of telling the students what not to do, they tell the students what they want them to do. This makes so much sense too, yet there are so many times I will do the opposite! Letting students know exactly what behaviors you expect sets them up for success!
Step 4: Model Most Desired Behaviors. 
This step is so important for the visual and hands-on learners! The Sisters recommend having students model the behaviors you wrote down on the I-chart. Students actually seeing and modeling the correct behaviors helps them to cement them in their minds. Just telling the students one or two times will not help them to be successful. They need to see it and practice what each behavior looks like. I would probably have a student who needs a lot of practice with this be one of my models for desired behaviors. 
Step 5: Model Least-Desired Behaviors, Then Most-Desired Behaviors Again.
You might think this step is an unnecessary waste of class time, but having the students see what not do is a valuable step to their independence. The Sisters suggest you choose a student who is often off-task to model these behaviors. The student models behaviors that aren't on the I-chart such as getting up and walking around the classroom and disturbing others. Hold a class discussion about the behaviors, then ask the student to demonstrate the correct behaviors and discuss each point on the I-chart. I can see this being very powerful for the students, and especially for the student modeling the positive behaviors. 
Step 6: Place Students Around the Room.
Now all students are ready to practice the positive behaviors. The Sisters place groups of students around the room this time, but remind students to look around the room and think of spots that they think they would work well in for next time. Students take their book boxes with them and sit in their spots. 
Step 7: Practice and Build Stamina.
While students are in their assigned spots, they are building initial stamina. The Sisters used to suggest three minutes for this practice session, but have revised that in this current edition of their book. They now let the students dictate when the practice session in over. They track how long the students' stamina lasts each time they practice. 
Step 8: Stay Out of the Way.
I suspect this step will be the hardest for me to follow through with! As the students are reading and building their stamina, the teacher is watching for any sign of a break in stamina. (During this practice phase, the teacher is monitoring the class, but once Daily 5 is in full effect, the teacher is working with students.) Once a student breaks stamina, or doesn't follow the I-chart, the practice session is ended. I love how the Sisters call the off-task students the "barometer" students because they dictate the "weather" of the classroom! So true! Another point I want to remember is that sometimes students need to "reset" themselves. This may be seen as a student stretching or looking around the classroom. As long as other students aren't disturbed, and the student gets right back to work, there is no need to call an end to the practice session. 
Step 9: Use a Quiet Signal to Bring Students Back to the Gathering Place.
The Sisters suggest using a quiet signal end the session. They have the students put their book boxes back where they go and sit in the gathering place they have established. We don't want students to practice incorrectly, so once they have shown stamina is broken, the practice session is ended. Quiet signals, such as chimes or a rainstick are suggested. 
Step 10: Conduct a Group Check-In; "Ask How Did it Go?"
Once students are at the gathering place, they are asked to rate themselves on a scale from 1-4 and show the number of fingers in front of their chest. They are asked to reflect on this and set a goal for the next practice session. 
The Sisters suggest 3 or 4 practice sessions a day, but stress that your class is your indicator for how many practice sessions to do. Older students may be able to do another practice session right away, but younger students may need a break- and that's OK. The students are the barometer. The practice sessions help solidify the procedures in the students' muscle memory, so they are very important to do at the beginning of the year. 

I'm up for this challenge! How about you? Be sure to check out the Chapter 3 posts from the other bloggers at the bottom of my post and link up if you read Chapter 3 or leave a comment! Some people have been doing Daily 5 for awhile, so they have lots of ideas for those of us who are new to it. Thank you for joining me for chapter 3!

Here is our schedule for the rest of the chapters:
I made these sheets to take notes as I'm reading. Feel free to grab them if you like!




Thank you for joining our Daily 5 Chapter 2 Book Study hosted by Primary Inspired! I loved reading everyone's take on chapter 1. I am finding it so helpful that many people participating in this book study have been using Daily 5 for years! There are wonderful ideas being shared! This week we are discussing Chapter 2, Our Core Beliefs: The Foundations of the Daily 5.
Trust and Respect 
The first belief the sisters describe is Trust and Respect. They emphasize that trust and respect between the teacher and students is important for meaningful learning to take place. They described two former students who had difficulty maintaining independent stamina for long periods of time. They explained they would touch base with these students before each round of Daily 5 to help increase their stamina. They describe these students not as difficult or mischievous, but as needing more instructional support and time to build their stamina. Students see the teacher respect and trust them, and it helps them to respect and trust the teacher in turn.
Community
Building a strong sense of community is so important from day one! I wholeheartedly believe in this and the difference it makes to your classroom climate. The Sisters believe in building a positive classroom culture right away. I love using activities from this book, Tribes by Jeanne Gibbs to help build community. About sixteen years ago I took a week long course based on the principles from this book, and it was a life changer! It's a bit pricey, but worth every penny! Tribes would go along nicely with Daily 5 and the beginning of the year. Getting students to be accountable to each other and honor and respect one another. This also means that students have an understanding that everyone is at different stages of development. 
And anything by Maria Dismondy is amazing! I love using her books at the beginning of the year when I am working on creating a positive learning environment. This one is my favorite! 
Choice
It's no wonder that when given choice, students are more successful. As adults, we are more invested when we are able to make our own choices. For students who participate in Daily 5, this means having choice in what they read, write, where they sit, and which activity they will do. How empowering for students! It makes so much sense!
Accountability
Both teachers and students need accountability with Daily 5. Teachers have to thoroughly teach the expectations and provide practice to prepare for independence and success with Daily 5. Students are held accountable for choosing their seats and keeping their noise levels down. When students aren't doing what they should be doing during Daily 5, they are called together to review the anchor charts. What is amazing to me is the independence of the students using Daily 5. The teacher isn't constantly looking over her students' shoulders and giving the teacher glare, but teaching one student or a group of students while the others are working on engaging, meaningful work!  
Brain Research 
I was shocked to read that one study showed a student's age parallels the amount of time they can focus during direct instruction! My kiddos are 7 and 8, and I know my lessons go way over 7 or 8 minutes! The sisters mention the 20/80 concept. Instead of spending 80% of the time instructing and 20% of the time practicing, instruction should be 20% of the time and practice should be 80%. 
Transitions as Brain and Body Breaks
This section goes right along with the previous one. The Sisters noticed their students getting restless at times- they would get up to get a drink, use the restroom, or bother their classmates. They decided to shorten their work sessions into 2 to 5 workshops each day. When they notice their students losing stamina, they have them stop, put everything away, and debrief together as a class. They provide a brain break for their students. We all know that glazed-over look in students' eyes when we know we've lost them! When that happens, I love to put on a Brain Break from Go Noodle
10 Steps to Independence
This belief gets its own chapter! We will be discussing it next week! Be sure to tune in on Tuesday, June 30th for a discussion of chapter 3. 
I keep finding myself underlining things in my book that I don't want to forget, so I made a notes page to jot the ideas down for each chapter. If I need more room, I will use sticky notes in each space. I plan to file this in my Daily 5 binder for planning purposes after our book study is over. Feel free to grab a freebie copy of your own by clicking on the picture below!
Now it's your turn! Share your thoughts by commenting below or linking up your blog post! We would love to hear what you think! 

P.S. Mary Anne, I asked around about your questions regarding kindergarten and Daily 5! Leave your email below or you can email me at theinspiredowl@gmail.com and I will let you know what I found out! It sounds like the Daily 5 is very doable in Kindergarten! 


Welcome to the first chapter of our Daily 5 Summer Book Study of The Daily 5 Second Edition by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, A.K.A. "The 2 Sisters." This first chapter is hosted by Brenda from Primary Inspired. Be sure to check out her post and others' from our D5 Book Study. And be sure to click on the picture below if you are interested in ordering your own copy of Daily 5. 
I began my Daily 5 journey about two years ago. I have never fully implemented D5, but I really want to next year. I have taken bits and pieces of Daily 5 and CAFE, the assessment piece the authors use during D5, and used them in my classroom. I thought this book study would be the perfect way to ease into full implementation of D5 next year!

If you haven't ever heard of Daily 5, it is a way to create routines and procedures for your students to increase their independence so you can work with groups or individuals. I love that the students aren't just completing worksheets and busy work that I pass out, but they have a choice in their learning and they work on meaningful activities and practice while you are working with those who need extra support. Everyone gets what they need and students have more buy in because they have choice in the activities they complete!

The first chapter covers how the Daily 5 has evolved and how it's different from centers or readers workshop. It tells the differences between the first and second editions of the books and how the authors made many discoveries after writing their first book, and the changes they made. One of the first differences is they no longer do all five rounds of Daily 5 each day. To be honest, I was never able to do five rounds a day. Now they are recommending starting with two or three rounds, depending on your students' ages. The Sisters also changed how they introduce the Daily 5 choices. They still begin with Read to Self, but now suggest Work on Writing as the second Daily 5 choice instead of Read to Someone. 

The Sisters have also added a math component called Math Daily 3 to their teacher toolbox. This will be discussed in detail in chapter 8. 

The following chapters of Daily 5 will be discussed on the dates below:

We hope you will join us in the next month and a half as we embark on our Daily 5 journey! Be sure to tune into the blog on the dates listed above to learn more about Daily 5! See you on Thursday to discuss chapter 2! Head over to Primary Inspired to see what she and the others have to say about chapter 1! 
I am so excited to bring you a fabulous giveaway hosted by Caitlin from Teach Inspire Change and co-hosted by some of your favorite teacher bloggers. We are giving away TWO prizes! A $260 Target Gift Card and a TPT bundle valued at almost $100! Please see the rafflecopter below for how to enter. Best of luck!

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Our TPT Bundle includes the following items (all valued at almost $100!)


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Come celebrate Abbey from A Teacher Mom's Birthday! She and her bloggy friends are teaming up to bring you some goodies on HER big day! 

There are 3 AWESOME surprises for you! Dollar Deals are ready to roll for today 6/15 and tomorrow 6/16! 


There are two giveaway! Products and a $50 gift certificate to Lakeshore Learning Store! 








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Welcome to June's edition of Pick 3! We promise to provide you with lots of summer inspiration! To kick off summer, we are sharing our teaching and non-teaching pins for our June and July Pick 3 Parties!

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My first pin is the homemade laundry detergent recipe I've been using for over a year now. It's the perfect summer project! I have saved so much money by making my own laundry detergent! Before I found this recipe, I had to buy Tide Free because of my daughter's allergic reactions. This homemade laundry detergent doesn't cause her any allergic reaction, and it has such a nice, soft fragrance. It's easy and not too expensive to make, and it can last a really long time depending on the amount you use. They recommend using 1-2 tablespoons per load, but I usually use a little more than that. I also like to use Downy Unstoppables Scent Booster instead of the Purex, but you can experiment with what you like to use. I make mine in a rectangular Sterilite container because it's easier to mix it up. After I mix it up, I pour it into the Unstoppables and other containers Oxy Clean containers I've collected and use those to store it. Just be careful when you grate the bar of Zote soap! I grated my fingernail off one time. Ouch! 
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My next pin is an adorable summer home decor piece I found. Nothing reminds me of summer more than DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith's Summertime. She even provides the cute printable banners! I love the shabby chic look of this easy home decor project!
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My last pin is classroom related! I have a bunch of these paper lanterns from my girls' bedrooms that they no longer needed after we redecorated. I have wanted to make these adorable owls for the longest time! All you need are paper eyes, a beak, feet, and cute wings you can cut from scrapbook paper. They will look so adorable on top of my bookcase! 

Now it's your turn! We would love for you to link up and share your top three Pinterest Pins for June! This linky is hosted on the third of each month- so come join in on the fun!
1.  Save the Pick 3 images to your desktop.
2.  Create a blog post using these images to share you 3 Pinterest Picks for the month.
3.  Share a link to your full Pinterest page if you would like.
4.  Link up by clicking the "add your link" button below.
5.  Be sure to check out the other Pinterest finds that have been shared and leave a comments on the ones you love!

For our June and July Pick 3 Pinterest Parties, feel free to link up your favorite recipes, home decor, and any other favorite non-teaching and teaching pins!

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